The Rotary Foundation, founded by Clevelander Arch Klumph 100 years ago, will be honored with a Cleveland Orchestra concert on October 23. Associate Conductor Brett Mitchell and Rotarian Mike Johns spoke with WCLV's Bill O'Connell.

Cleveland, OH - The Cleveland Orchestra conducted by Associate Conductor Brett Mitchell will perform a special concert for the Rotary Centennial Celebration on Sunday, October 23, 2016 at 3:00 pm at Severance Hall. The concert includes works by Beethoven, Claude Debussy and John Williams. There will also be special video segments highlighting the history of Rotary. Tickets are still available for purchase for Rotarians and the general public at www.trf100.com.

Immediately following the concert, a Centennial Celebration Dinner will be held at the InterContinental Cleveland to honor donations to The Rotary Foundation in honor of The Foundation's 100th Anniversary. The evening’s events also include a very special induction of four members into the Arch Klumph Society with some traveling from as far away as the Philippines to be honored in Mr. Klumph’s hometown. Members of the Society have made contributions to The Foundation of $250,000 or more.

This Centennial Class of inductees includes Polio survivors, those whose children were touched by polio, and others who have been inspired by Rotary International’s efforts to eradicate polio from the face of the earth – one of the greatest humanitarian undertakings in the history of the world. One of the most noteworthy is the posthumous induction of Clevelanders’ Frank H. and Nancy L. Porter whose contributions from their fund established with the Cleveland Foundation have totaled nearly $.5 million providing 750,000 inoculations of children against polio.

Highlights of the evening include presentations by honored guests Rotary International President John Germ and The Rotary Foundation Chair Kalyan Banerjee.

To honor the leadership of Cleveland Rotarian Arch C. Klumph, The Honorable Frank G. Jackson, Mayor, City of Cleveland has declared Sunday, October 23, 2016 as Arch C. Klumph Day in honor of this “Renaissance Man,” the Father of The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International who had a dream 100 years ago of “Doing Good in the World.”

Rotary International District 6630 has invited the public and Rotarians from around the world to attend a Special Celebratory Concert featuring The Cleveland Orchestra at Severance Hall on October 23 beginning at 3:00 p.m. Joining this celebration are Mr. Klumph’s grandchildren Frederick T. McGuire, III and actress Maeve McGuire.

A respected businessman, civic leader and humanitarian, Arch also was an accomplished flutist who performed with the Cleveland Philharmonic Orchestra and the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra, and he once confided to a reporter that he would trade his business success for a career in music. “My heart is in music and my head is in business,” he said. “I wish my heart could have controlled my life.” Yet, he never let his interest in things artistic interfere with business.

Rotary and The Cleveland Orchestra previously collaborated in 1939 when the Orchestra performed at the opening of the Rotary International Convention, held that year at Cleveland Public Auditorium. This year’s Centennial Celebration Concert on October 23 features two works that the Orchestra performed at the 1939 concert: Emmanuel Chabrier’s España and Franz Liszt’s Les Préludes. Under the direction of Cleveland Orchestra Associate Conductor Brett Mitchell, the October 23 program also includes John Williams’s Celebrate Discovery!, Claude Debussy’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, and Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Leonore” Overture No. 3.